Conjunction of Moon & Saturn July 2014

Conjunction Background: Occasionally, two or more objects meet up with each other in our sky. Astronomers use the word conjunction to describe these meetings. The word conjunction comes from Latin, meaning to join together.
In astronomy, a conjunction occurs when two astronomical objects or spacecraft appear to be close to each other in the sky.
This means they have either the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude, usually as observed from Earth.
When two objects always appear close to the ecliptic—such as two planets, the Moon and a planet, or the Sun and a planet—this fact implies an apparent close approach between the objects as seen in the sky.
A related word, appulse, is the minimum apparent separation in the sky of two astronomical objects.
Conjunctions involve either two objects in the Solar System or one object in the Solar System and a more distant object, such as a star. A conjunction is an apparent phenomenon caused by the observer's perspective: the two objects involved are not actually close to one another in space.
Conjunctions between two bright objects close to the ecliptic, such as two bright planets, can be seen with the naked eye.
You can keep up to date with upcoming conjunctions by visiting 'Earthsky.org'

Description: The gibbous Moon passed under Saturn during evening hours across North and South America. From mid-northern latitudes, about 1° will separate Moon and planet.
Looking up on July 7th to spot Saturn hovering very close to the moon. With its immediately recognizable rings, Saturn might be one of the most striking planets in the solar system, but many skywatchers find it hard to spot the planet in the night sky.
Venus and Jupiter can be immediately identified by their great brilliance, as can Mars by its distinctive fiery orange color.
But to the naked eye, there really isn't anything distinctive about Saturn. It appears as a bright "star" shining with a steady, sedate, yellow-white glow, but it really isn't all that eye-catching.
As darkness falls, and if weather permits, looking toward the south-southwest sky. Roughly one-quarter up from the horizon to the point overhead will be a waxing gibbous moon.
This is the best time to look at the moon with binoculars or a telescope, because it offers more viewing comfort to the eye as opposed to a full moon.
Using a telescope with just small optical power (magnifications of 20x to 40x), or even with good binoculars, you can then see a wealth of detail on the moon's surface.
Hovering just over a degree above the moon will be a bright, yellowish-white "star" shining with a steady glow.
That is Saturn. Now, with Saturn properly identified, you can try using a telescope on the planet, sometimes referred to as one of the grandest sights of the night sky.

Conjunction of Moon & Saturn

Imaging Details

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